I have 7 badges, I think. Maybe 8. Which one is the ice one? I did that. I have a pretty crappy team, too.Quilava level 32Gyrados level 28Shiny Gyrados level 30Weepinbell level 25SudoWoodo level 24Pidgey level 2

Turns out I got this game after all. So far it's been more enjoyable than the original Silver. Going to try to beat the first gym leader tomorrow and take this game slow since it's my only DS game. I have a feeling Roger the Chikorita and I will be able to take all comers.

Are all the original 150 available in this game somehow? I'm not a huge fan of the new ones. I'd particularly like to get at least one of the original starters, though I realize that's asking much from the Pokemon Company.

Just picked up my reserve copy of SoulSilver an hour ago. I'm still trying to pick a starter. I'm tempted to go with Cyndaquil, since he's an old favorite, but on the other hand I fell like being adventurous and getting Chikorita (which I never picked before). Suggestions?

Also, how far in the game do you have to be to get that Pokewalker working?

You just need one pokemon in your PC box and you'll be able to start Poke-walking ^ _ ^

Oh, and right now - 44 Typhlosion, 42 Empoleon, 45 Ho-Oh, 36 Ampharos, 31 RED Gyarados (yay), and the 30 Spiky Eared Pichu. I just won against the second Elite Four member.

Turns out I got this game after all. So far it's been more enjoyable than the original Silver. Going to try to beat the first gym leader tomorrow and take this game slow since it's my only DS game. I have a feeling Roger the Chikorita and I will be able to take all comers.

Are all the original 150 available in this game somehow? I'm not a huge fan of the new ones. I'd particularly like to get at least one of the original starters, though I realize that's asking much from the Pokemon Company.

Not all original 150 but most of them. Original starters? You're in for a surprise.SPOILERS

After you get all 16 badges and beat Red on top of Mt. Silver.You can talk to prof. Oak and he'll let you choose one of the original starters: Bulbasaur, Squirtle, or Charmander.The downside is that it'll take a long time to get to Red. Beating the 1337 4. Beating all 16 Gyms. etc.

I got my third badge! I got to the park. Boy, the pokeathlon sure is fun. But I saved after that because I can't wait til tomorrow because of the bug catching contest, I remember how many hours I spent on that on the original gold.

I noticed that the HG is incompatible with My Pokemon Ranch. Does anyone know if there will be an update for MPR so that it can connect with HGSS?

Well, for Platinum they did that so I guess so. Also remember you can't use multiple cardrdges with MPR on one save file. (Which totally ruins the idea of having a backup for your older-playthrough-Pokémon)

I just got past the second Gym. Game's been amazing so far, much better than the originals. And my run with Chiki the Chikorita has been going a lot better than I expected. Though I have a feeling I'm gonna regret not choosing Cyndaquil at some point in the future. Thankfully, my friend's gonna trade me a baby Cyndaquil as soon as I can get him a Chikorita.

Also, DAMN you guys are dedicated! The game's been out for only 3 days and yet some of you are already at or almost at the Elite Four!

The "challenge level is decided by starter pokemon" is really just some old line from the Red/Blue manual that sticks around for whatever reason. It really doesn't matter much who you choose, you don't HAVE to make your starter an important member of your team, and there's plenty of good pokemon you can catch to fill in for whatever starter you didn't pick. Just choose the one you like best, don't worry about "which will make the game easier".

So I went with a Cyndaquil named Explotaro. Cookie for getting the reference.

Pro Tip

So I'm sure you all know the your Pokemon's nature can affect it stat growth. Well instead of having to look up which nature affects what stats they have included a small sign that indicates it for you. Under you Pokemon's Summary look at their stats. If you look closely at the outline of the words you will see one with Red tint (increased Stat) and one with a Blue tint (decreased stat). If you do not see a tint then you have a neutral nature.